The Upper Pool
by englishdarkness
Summary: Link and Zelda visit the upper pool in Skyloft one summer's day.


The clawshots were always one of Link's favorite items he had received during his quest, but he never really stopped to wonder how he could have fun with them in Skyloft. There were obviously no targets around, and they seemed rather useless in the sky.

Link toddled around one summer afternoon, the sun high in the sky above Skyloft. Clawshots in hand, he searched for vines or targets to climb onto. He sat down by the waterfall and dipped his feet in the cool water. He looked up at the waterfall, and couldn't help but wonder where the water came from. As the water continued to plunge down into the lower pool, Link realized that he had never been to the upper pool of Skyloft before. He stood up and investigated the surrounding chunks of earth floating around the waterfall. _I wonder if there are any vines on those things…_ Sure enough, perfectly placed at the edge of the closest rock, were green vines growing in the sun. Link smiled and grabbed his clawshots. Aiming right for the vines, he made his shot and was pulled through the air to the patch of vines.

Standing on the grassy patch of land, he turned his attention to the upper pool. _Well, what do you know._ He thought to himself with a smile. Once again, he aimed, shot, and sailed through the air up to the vines growing at the edge of the upper pool. Link climbed up the vines and scrambled up to the top of the upper pool.

Skyloft had never looked so beautiful. Link had of course seen Skyloft from above while riding his crimson Loftwing, but the view of the townscape was incredibly different from atop the upper pool. There was no rushing wind or red feathers in his face, and the view was just incredibly magnificent. Struck with awe, Link stepped over to the edge of the waterfall and sat down, dangling his feet over the edge. The hot breeze picked up and whispered through his dirty-blonde hair. While looking out at the breathtaking view, the only thing he could think of was Zelda. He needed to show Zelda this view.

In a matter of minutes, Link sailed down to the surface of Skyloft with the sailcloth he _always_ kept on hand. He knew exactly where to find Zelda. She kept a secret little garden of plants from the surface world on the roof of the Knight Academy, and during the summer she spent the majority of her time there. Link scrambled up to the lower level of the roof and peeked over the edge to the top level. Just as he had expected, Zelda sat by her little garden, reading a book. Link smiled to himself as the breeze fluttered around her radiant yellow hair and her pleasant, sky blue sundress. She always looked especially beautiful and peaceful during the summer months.

Link hopped up to the roof and smiled at Zelda.

"Hey! What are you up to up here?"

A startled Zelda quickly looked up from her book and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, goodness, it's just you. I thought you must have been Owlan for a second. If he ever found out about this garden it would be the end of me, you know."

Link continued to grin at his childhood friend as he sat down next to her. The garden she kept was small, but had such a wide array of plant species from the world below the clouds. Flowers, grasses, and bushes that had all been retrieved from the surface by Link himself were all organized in little rows according to which province they came from.

"If you're not busy at the moment, I have something really special to show you."

"Yeah! Yeah I'm not busy, I'd love to, of course yes," Zelda exclaimed eagerly as she blushed a shade of rosy pink.

"Alright, follow me then."

They descended from the rooftop and went down the wooden stairs to the bazaar, hopped down to the edge of the lower pool, and ran across the stepping stones to the far side of the pool. Link brought Zelda to the edge of the floating island and got out his clawshot.

"Now hold on tight to me," he told her. She looked puzzled, and wrapped her arms around him. He readied his clawshot, clung to Zelda's fragile waist, and pulled them both through the air to the first patch of land.

"Don't let go, now!" he told Zelda, who had become absolutely flustered.

He shot the clawshot again to the edge of the upper pool and the two were carried again to the vines at the edge.

"Ok, now close your eyes," Link had an excited smile on his face, one by which Zelda was slightly worried.

"Close my eyes?"

"Yeah, shut them tight. Hold my hand and I'll lead you up the vines and onto the top. But keep your eyes shut."

Zelda did as Link told her. She gripped Link's hand as tight as ever as she put all her trust in him and climbed up the vines. She clambered up to the surface and threw herself onto Link as she gasped for breath. Link giggled as he helped her to her feet and let her to the edge of the waterfall.

"Are you ready to open your eyes?"

Zelda nodded.

"Okay, go ahead and open them."

Zelda opened her eyes and gasped with amazement. The townscape had never looked so beautiful, and she couldn't believe how high up the upper pool really was.

"Link this is amazing! I can't believe I've never been up here before! The town looks so peaceful down there…"

"I thought you might like the view up here," Link chuckled. The two sat down and looked out over Skyloft in the late afternoon sun. Nothing seemed out of place. Zelda swayed her legs of the edge of the island and lay back on the warm grass. Her pale skin radiated in the sunlight, and the way she was smiling created a luminescent glow all around her. Link looked at her serene face and lay down beside her.

"Thanks for bringing me up here, Link. It's the most beautiful place in Skyloft."

"You can come up here whenever you want to. Just say the word and I'll take you here."

Zelda smiled at him. Her incandescent smile yielded warmth even on the coldest of days. Link always loved Zelda's enchanting smile. When Zelda smiled, everyone and everything seemed to smile as well. She looked back up at the sky and said quietly, "I haven't been this peaceful in a long while." Though she was still smiling, it wasn't the same smile that had warmed Link's very being since they were children. Link knew Zelda hadn't been the same since the eradication of Demise. After they both returned to Skyloft after their journey had ended, Zelda spent long hours by herself, either in her bedroom, in her garden, or riding her Loftwing. Link had done his best to cheer her up and get her to smile that beautiful smile of hers again, but she just wasn't the same. She had undoubtedly missed Impa, the Sheikah guardian entrusted to protect the goddess who had accompanied Zelda throughout her journey. Link knew she must have been devastated to lose the only motherly figure she had ever had in her life. He knew he couldn't fill that void for Zelda, but he always tried to be there for her, no matter what she may need. Although their journey was long over, Link was still her chosen hero, and he would always protect his Zelda.

Link leaned in and kissed Zelda's fair cheek. "Please just keep smiling, Zelda," he whispered to her. Zelda closed her eyes and smiled. She smiled just as she had smiled as a child, that warm smile that Link adored so much. She threw herself onto Link and hugged him tightly. She kissed his cheek in return.

"I love you so much, Link. I really do."

Link was utterly relieved to see Zelda acting significantly more joyful. He held her close and buried his face in her golden hair.

"I love you too, Zelda."

Zelda sat up and looked at Link. She had always loved him, as he had kept her safe her entire life. He never stopped looking out for her, and Zelda had finally realized that she loved him more than anything in the world, and that she loved him so much more than just a close friend. She ran her fingers through his disheveled hair. Link was the only person Zelda had ever truly trusted, the only person she had ever allowed herself to become close to. He smiled down on Zelda, his eyes filled with both nostalgic sorrow as well as peaceful content. Zelda gazed back into his clear blue eyes with a placid expression. Before the few small tears could well-up in her eyes, she threw her arms around Link's neck and pulled his lips to hers. For a brief second, Zelda worried Link would pull away and give her a horrified look. But he didn't. He kissed Zelda back without any hesitation, as if it was something he had been longing to do for ages. He slid his hands around Zelda's waist and held her close to him. The two sat by the edge of the upper pool in each other's embrace, their hair dancing in the summer breeze.

Link finally pulled away and smiled at Zelda.

"Zelda you don't know how long I've been wanting to kiss you like that," he looked toward the ground, still smiling.

"I'm sorry, I just…" Zelda's voice trailed off as her fair cheeks turned bright pink.

Link lifted his head and looked in her eyes again.

"No, no you shouldn't be sorry," he said with the same grin on his lips.

Zelda had nothing to say.

Link had nothing to say.

So Link took Zelda close again and caressed her lips with his once more. Zelda couldn't tell what emotions she was feeling. She was so unbelievably overjoyed, but for some reason she had begun to cry. Warm tears ran down her warm face, and Link could feel them on his. He pulled back and looked at her. "What's the matter?" His feared he had made her feel like she had been taken advantage of. Zelda just continued to cry.

"I'm so sorry, I'm just, I'm okay, really I am…" but she couldn't stop crying.

"No, Zelda, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have continued like that, I'm so sorry."

Zelda looked up at him abruptly and shook her head. "No, Link, it's not that. I really did want to kiss you. I just…I don't…" she held her face in her hands and sobbed.

Link smiled slightly. He understood Zelda perfectly. He laid her head in his lap and kissed her forehead. "It's alright Zelda, you're alright. You're alright with me," he reassured her while stroking her long hair. Zelda stopped crying after a while, and the two of them sat quietly in the waning afternoon sunlight.

Zelda rolled over onto her back and looked at Link. He looked down at her calm face and smiled again. Zelda smiled back. Link bent down and kissed her nose with a smile.

"Never stop smiling, Zelda."


End file.
